Lift station and method

ABSTRACT

A lift station for raising the level of an open channel flow of liquid by sweeping blades mounted to a rotated wheel into the liquid flow after entering a housing to sweep the liquid up and back along a housing interior wall and over a weir edge located well above the level of the open channel flow stream. The flow stream is caused to descend as it enters the housing through a drop to increase the flow velocity to a degree sufficient to offset the impeding effect on upstream flow of the encounter of the flow with the rotating blades. Roller bearings are mounted to the inside of the housing to side walls to support the bladed wheel and are packed with a solid lubricant to insure a long service life despite being exposed to the liquid and debris entrained therein. A reverse rotation device positively prevents a backwards rotation of the wheel to prevent damage to the blades. The wheel is driven by a motor mounted in a housing tray affixed to one side wall driving a drive shaft penetrating the side wall. The housing tray collects any liquid leaking past the shaft and has a sloping bottom directing liquid back towards a drain hole in the housing side wall.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional Ser. No. 60/533,910, filed Dec. 31, 2003 and is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 10/394,513, filed Mar. 21, 2003 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,077,954 B2 and a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 09/498,178, filed Feb. 4, 2000 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,705,555 B1.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present inventor has heretofore invented an apparatus and method for efficiently lifting liquid from a shallow depth open channel flow to a higher level, as described in EP 1 122 024.

This apparatus comprises a rotating wheel having straight edged flexible blades which are rotated into the flow in the same direction as the flow, and sweep liquid up from the channel flow along an upwardly and rearwardly curved housing wall and over an elevated weir edge, to thereby be raised in level.

The object of the invention is to make certain improvements to improve performance of the apparatus referred to.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The improvements thereto include the addition of a steeply descending entryway into the housing creating an increased velocity of the liquid flowing in the channel immediately prior to encountering the wheel blades, this increase of a sufficient magnitude to prevent an interruption in the channel flow otherwise occurring when the flow first encounters the wheel blades, tending to create localized momentary slowings in the flow allowing debris to settle out to create a flow obstruction.

The housing is also provided with an upward flow guide partition leading to the weir edge which receives liquid slung from the blades and guides it up over the weir edge to maximize the proportion of liquid swept up by the blades which is passed over the weir edge.

An improved bearing structure for a wheel support shaft insures a long service life even though located within the housing and subjected to contact with the liquid and debris therein.

An antireverse arrangement mounted on the drive shaft connected to the wheel axle positively prevents inadvertent reverse rotation of the wheel which could otherwise damage or destroy the wheel blades.

The wheel blades are constructed of a double layer of thin sheet metal to be sufficiently flexible at their outer edges to deflect when encountering a large object in the liquid while being sufficiently stiff at their root to prevent excessive deflection when pushing liquid through the housing.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of an improved lift station apparatus according to the present invention, with a phantom line fragmenting depiction of a connected flow channel.

FIG. 2 is an end view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a partially sectional view showing details within the lift station housing.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a portion of the apparatus as shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is a view of the section 6—6 taken in FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the components shown in FIG. 6.

FIG. 7 is an elevational view of the bladed wheel and support shaft as well as a pair of shaft bearings mounted within the housing sidewalls shown in fragmentary form.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, certain specific terminology will be employed for the sake of clarity and a particular embodiment described in accordance with the requirements of 35 USC 112, but it is to be understood that the same is not intended to be limiting and should not be so construed inasmuch as the invention is capable of taking many forms and variations within the scope of the appended claims.

Referring to FIG. 1, the lift station 10 according to the present invention includes a housing 12 constructed of a weldment of steel plates, including a wheel housing 14 and a drive component tray-housing 16 disposed on one side of the wheel housing 14 at an intermediate height thereon. The housing 12 is supported on a series of leveling legs 18.

A trough or trench 20 carrying an open channel flow to be raised is aligned with an inlet end of the housing 12.

A wheel assembly 22 is rotatable in the housing section 14, concentrically to a radiused rear wall segment 24 (FIG. 3).

The wheel assembly 22 comprises a hexagonal drum 26 formed by a series of plates 28 secured to hub pieces 30, welded to an axle shaft 32 supported on two bearings 34, 36 mounted to the inside of respective housing side plates 38 (FIG. 7).

A series of six longitudinal straight edged blades 40 are mounted about the perimeter of the drum 26 extending in a trailing direction relative the rotation of the wheel assembly 22 (clockwise as viewed in FIG. 3). The blades 40 are clamped against bars 41 fixed to angles 43 connected to plates 28.

The outer edges of the blades 40 sweep over the radiused rear wall 24 in close proximity thereto. The blades 40 are designed to have some flexibility to be able to deflect in the event a large object is encountered entrained in the liquid flow, while still being stiff enough to not deflect excessively under the load imposed by the weight of the liquid.

A suitable construction comprises two stacked thin sheets 42, 44 of “blue steel” (0.062 inches thick), a longer blade 44 projecting radially well past a shorter blade 42, such that stiffness is enhanced nearer the blade root to prevent excessive deflection which would affect the performance of the lift station.

A rearwardly inclined upper wall 46 of the housing guides the liquid swept up by the blades 40 and redirects the liquid backwardly towards a weir edge 48 defined at the top of a rear housing wall 52.

An upwardly inclined partition 50 receives liquid slung up and aids in directing the liquid passing off the wheel blades 40 up over the weir edge 48 to increase the proportion of liquid swept up by the blades 40 which will pass over the weir edge 48.

A bottom deflector 51 redirects any escaping liquid draining back down towards the wheel 22.

A downwardly inclined chute plate 54 on the other side of the weir edge 48 redirects the captured liquid to a receiving space 56 (shown in phantom lines in FIG. 2), such as a reservoir or the tank of a filtration apparatus as described in the above referenced patent applications.

The details of operation are set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 6,705,555 B1 and EP 1 122 024, which are here incorporated by reference.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a descending entryway 56 is provided just upstream from where the liquid open channel flow encounters the rotating wheel blades 40.

It has been found that this encounter can sometimes create disturbances in the entering open channel flow tending to create a back wave upstream, momentarily slowing flow in localized areas which results in machining debris settling out and create a blockage in the trench or chute along which the open channel flow moves. It has been discovered that by accelerating the flow rate at the point of entry by causing the channel liquid to plunge down the entryway 56, the retarding effect caused by encounter in the blades can be compensated for, and this described disturbance can thereby be avoided.

A drop of about three inches over the length of the entryway 56 has been determined to be sufficient to prevent any momentary slowing in the upstream open channel flow.

The drive system for the bladed wheel 22 includes an electric drive motor 58 vertically mounted in a housing-tray 16 welded to one side of the housing, with a right angle gear reducer 60 and resting on a adjustable mounting 62 within the housing-tray 16 which allows alignment of a coupling 64 and drive unit output shaft 66 with the wheel axle shaft 32 (FIG. 4).

The drive unit output shaft 66 passes through an anti-reverse sprag clutch 68 which allows the shaft 66 to freely rotate in the proper direction but immediately locks if rotation in the reverse direction is attempted, as for example as a result of an inadvertent reverse wiring of the motor 58. A reaction arm 70 is connected to one of the side plates 38 by a machine screw 72 and a pedestal 74 welded to the side plate 38 to absorb the locking reaction force.

This prevents damage to the wheel blades 40 which would otherwise occur if reverse rotation occurred.

All of the drive components are contained in the housing-tray section 16, with the entry of the shaft 66 through the side wall 38 confined therein such that any leakage past the bearing 36 and shaft 66 is collected and redirected into the housing section 14 by the sloping bottom 76 of the housing-tray section 16 and a drain hole 78 at the bottom thereof.

The bearings 34 and 36 are mounted within a split bearing housings to avoid external leaks, each bearing housing comprised of a lower half 80, 82 welded to the inside of a respective housing side plate 38. A top cap 84, 86 is secured to a respective housing lower half 80, 82 by cap screws 88.

The drive unit output shaft 66 is received within and keyed to the wheel axle shaft at 90 as seen in FIG. 4.

The bearings 34, 36 are designed to resist the effects of being exposed to liquid and machining debris within the housing.

A McGill® Sphere Rol bearing is preferred, as having crowned rollers accommodating slight misalignments between each end of the shaft 32.

A solid lubricant commercially available from Phyrnet, Inc., of Springboro, Ohio under the trademark MICROPOLY® has been found to be effective in excluding liquid and debris to promote long bearing life. 

1. A lift station for lifting liquid from an open channel flow of liquid, said lift station comprising: a housing having an inlet opening arranged to receive said open channel flow of liquid onto a bottom wall of said housing so that open channel flow continues into said housing: a bladed wheel mounted within said housing for rotation about an axis located above said inlet opening, and a drive motor rotating said bladed wheel therein by drive components coupling said drive motor to said blade wheel; said bladed wheel having a plurality of outwardly extending blades attached to a hub structure, said blades generally conforming to the cross sectional shape of an interior space in said housing receiving said open channel liquid flow and rotated in the same direction of the direction of said flow, said blades each having an outer edge passing over said bottom wall during rotation of said bladed wheel and sweeping said open channel liquid flow entering said inlet opening in said same direction as said direction of said open channel flow; said housing interior space defined by a rear wall surface curving upwardly from said inlet opening along the path along which said outer edge of each of said blades move so as to enable liquid to be swept therealong and upwardly by rotation of said bladed wheel; said upwardly curving surface extending to a rearwardly and upwardly extending exit chute having a weir edge defined at an upper region thereof, liquid slung over said weir edge descending into a collection space disposed below and past said weir edge; said bladed wheel rotated by said drive motor to achieve sufficient blade velocity to sweep liquid upwardly and to sling said liquid up said exit chute and over said weir edge, said liquid thereafter descending into said collection space; the improvement comprising an entryway inclined downwardly sufficiently steeply to said housing bottom wall inlet opening in the direction of movement of said blades to prevent a substantial retardation of said open channel flow upon encountering said blades.
 2. The lift station according to claim 1 wherein said housing bottom wall descends approximately three inches to a point where said flow encounters said rotating wheel blades.
 3. The lift station according to claim 1 wherein said housing further includes an upwardly inclined guide partition extending from said weir edge back into said housing to guide said liquid slung up by said wheel blades over said weir edge.
 4. The lift station according to claim 1 wherein said hub structure comprises a drum, said blades attached to the perimeter thereof extending in a tangential direction; an axle shaft fixed to and extending within said drum; a respective bearing receiving one end of said axle shaft mounted to the inside of a respective side wall defining said housing to support said blade wheel for rotation in said housing interior space.
 5. The lift station according to claim 4 wherein said respective bearing comprises a roller bearing filled with a solid lubricant.
 6. The lift station according to claim 1 further including a reverse rotation device drivingly associated with said bladed wheel preventing rotation thereof in a reverse direction from said direction of open channel liquid flow into said housing.
 7. The lift station according to claim 6 wherein said reverse rotation device comprises a one way sprag clutch driven by a drive shaft driven by said drive motor and a reaction arm connected to fixed structure and absorbing a reaction of said sprag clutch upon attempted reverse rotation of said bladed wheel.
 8. The lift station according to claim 1 wherein each blade is constructed of two thin metal sheets clamped together, one blade sheet extending out radially a greater distance than the other blade sheet.
 9. A lift station for lifting liquid from an open channel flow of liquid, said lift station comprising: a housing having an inlet opening arranged to receive said open channel flow of liquid onto a bottom wall of said housing so that open channel flow continues into said housing: a bladed wheel mounted within said housing for rotation about an axis located above said inlet opening, and a drive motor rotating said bladed wheel therein by drive components coupling said drive motor to said blade wheel; said bladed wheel having a plurality of outwardly extending blades attached to a hub structure, said blades generally conforming to the cross sectional shape of an interior space in said housing receiving said open channel liquid flow and rotated in the same direction of the direction of said flow, said blades each having an outer edge passing over said bottom wall during rotation of said bladed wheel and sweeping said open channel liquid flow entering said inlet opening in said same direction as said direction of said open channel flow; said housing interior space defined by a rear wall surface curving upwardly from said inlet opening along the path along which said outer edge of each of said blades move so as to enable liquid to be swept therealong and upwardly by rotation of said bladed wheel; said upwardly curving surface extending to a rearwardly and upwardly extending exit chute having a weir edge defined at an upper region thereof, liquid slung over said weir edge descending into a collection space disposed below and past said weir edge; said bladed wheel rotated by said drive motor to achieve sufficient blade velocity to sweep liquid upwardly and to sling said liquid up said exit chute and over said weir edge, said liquid thereafter descending into said collection space; the improvement comprising a reverse rotation device drivingly associated with said bladed wheel preventing rotation thereof in a reverse direction from said direction of open channel liquid flow into said housing.
 10. A lift station for lifting liquid from an open channel flow of liquid, said lift station comprising: a housing having an inlet opening arranged to receive said open channel flow of liquid onto a bottom wall of said housing so that open channel flow continues into said housing: a bladed wheel mounted within said housing for rotation about an axis located above said inlet opening, and a drive motor rotating said bladed wheel therein by drive components coupling said drive motor to said blade wheel; said bladed wheel having a plurality of outwardly extending blades attached to a hub structure, said blades generally conforming to the cross sectional shape of an interior space in said housing receiving said open channel liquid flow and rotated in the same direction of the direction of said flow, said blades each having an outer edge passing over said bottom wall during rotation of said bladed wheel and sweeping said open channel liquid flow entering said inlet opening in said same direction as said direction of said open channel flow; said housing interior space defined by a rear wall surface curving upwardly from said inlet opening along the path along which said outer edge of each of said blades move so as to enable liquid to be swept therealong and upwardly by rotation of said bladed wheel; said upwardly curving surface extending to a rearwardly and upwardly extending exit chute having a weir edge defined at an upper region thereof, liquid slung over said weir edge descending into a collection space disposed below and past said weir edge; said bladed wheel rotated by said drive motor to achieve sufficient blade velocity to sweep liquid upwardly and to sling said liquid up said exit chute and over said weir edge, said liquid thereafter descending into said collection space; the improvement comprising a housing tray affixed to a side wall of said housing said drive motor mounted thereon with a drive component coupling said bladed wheel thereto to cause said rotation of said wheel.
 11. The lift station according to claim 10 wherein said motor is mounted vertically in said housing tray.
 12. The lift station according to claim 10 wherein said drive components include a drive shaft penetrates said side wall of said housing.
 13. The lift station according to claim 12 wherein said housing tray has a bottom wall sloping toward said housing side wall and a drain hole in said side wall allowing drawback of any liquid leaking into said housing tray. 